Very old Article, but well worth mentioning time and time again. I have this painting on my wall behind my computer, next to the Red Baron's Portrait and on the other side a copy of the V-day Newspaper.

Bonus: constant references to Red baron in Peanuts and of course the Peanuts song where the Red Baron doesn't shoot down snoopy because it's Christmas. Pilot in real life similar situation named charlie Brown. Coincidence?

That is a great story. My guess, the Post is scrambling to shore up its image in the wake of publishing that awful "this man is about to die" photo, realizing they still need to be in that market in between the Daily News and the Times.

Nope not trolling, and again good story but the headline says "WW2 fighter pilot Charlie Brown..." and the opening paragraph reads, "On Dec. 20, 1943, a young American bomber pilot named Charlie Brown found

Bacontastesgood:That is a great story. My guess, the Post is scrambling to shore up its image in the wake of publishing that awful "this man is about to die" photo, realizing they still need to be in that market in between the Daily News and the Times.

I was going to say, this has been the most worthwhile Post article in probably years.

Bacontastesgood:That is a great story. My guess, the Post is scrambling to shore up its image in the wake of publishing that awful "this man is about to die" photo, realizing they still need to be in that market in between the Daily News and the Times.

I highly recommend the book Unbroken for anyone interested in this stuff. True story about an Olympian and bomber crewman who survived a crash in the ocean and floated for like 60 days or something ridiculous, was captured by the Japanese, etc. Great read.

superdude72:So he was too honorable to shoot down a bomber when it was vulnerable. Nice job, Stigler, you've just freed that bomber crew to return to battle and kill god knows how many of your countrymen.

It's such an aristocratic way of thinking. Who cares how many of the little people die as result of your actions (or lack thereof). The important thing is that you keep your "honor."

Thank God such chivalry has gone out of fashion. We're a better world for it.

Although I'm not entirely against their use, a drone wouldn't make the same decision. Great story.What I find interesting is how removed people feel from the war. It's as if it's simply a TV show that we all know major plot details to. This isn't ancient history. If you were born in the 50s or 60s, you lived in the consequences and ongoing momentum of WW2 (Hirihito and Hess lived until the late 80s, well Hirihito for sure). The war didn't really end until the 1990s.

I met a German Major one time who had some interesting stories to tell.

He fought with full force when he thought the war could be won, but as soon as he knew it was lost, he turned around and saved as many of his men as he could.

He crossed the lines many times, negotiating surrender of hundreds of German troops, saving not only their lives but also those of many Americans.

He was a genuine hero, and if he had been caught he would have faced a terrible, slow execution.

I also met an American citizen who renounced his country and joined the Wehrmacht, one of three men in all history who did so. I do not agree with his politics, but he had an "interesting" slant on life.

The idea of this code of honor exhibited by the German pilot, that you find hypocritical and needless...

First, in the article, it was discussed by his superior, that to conduct yourself personally with honor and forethought may not "help your side", but it will help your own mental well-being, and preserve your humanity. So consider that he was following orders, albeit esoteric orders, from his commanding officer.

Second, such ridiculous things at the Geneva Convention also offer acts of chivalry and codes of honor/ethics, such as using bullets with full metal jackets, so that more people shot remain casualties and aren't converted to kills.

Perhaps human beings engage in warfare under hypocritical principles, but often those who don't adhere to that chivalry, and place the ends justifying the means as their guiding principle, they are vilified by the rest of us... as per terrorism.